Board Talk: The Next Twenty-Four Months: Boards and the Speed of AI

Questions about AI are surfacing in almost every leadership discussion at the moment, bringing both opportunities and challenges for boards and executive teams.

In this podcast, Head of Board Practice, Augusta Bunting had the pleasure of speaking with Niresh Rajah, Chief Data & AI Officer, Board Advisor and Fellow of Imperial and Oxford, about what AI means for boards today, and what it might mean in the future. Whilst the discussion starts with governance and oversight, it quickly broadens into a wider conversation about innovation, organisational change, leadership and the opportunities AI presents.

 

Niresh is a globally recognised executive leader in Financial Services and Professional Services with over 20+ years of experience at the forefront of Data & Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Regulation, Automation, Innovation and Digital Transformation. He has held senior leadership roles at Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Danske Bank, DLA Piper, and Grant Thornton. As a seasoned Chief Data & AI Officer, he has led complex regulatory, AI and Data transformations at Board level including Brexit changes and GDPR working with regulators across Europe.

He also holds various Non-Executive Director and Board Advisory roles. He is an Associate Fellow and Innovation Expert at Oxford University, and an Honorary Practice Fellow for AI, Data & Digital at Imperial College. He has been recognized in the Global CDO 100 for four consecutive years (2023-2026), Global AI Top 150 – 2026, AI Executive to Watch (2025), and Data Management Professional (2023).